Hidden Sentiment: 99 Red Balloons
by DeborahSulkin
Summary: Story 3/5 - Joseph struggles to find a way to ask Jac that special question. A certain four year old comes to his rescue.


**99 Red Balloons**

It had been a extra long shift for Joseph, who was finally glad to be out of surgery. After an troublesome heart bypass, Joseph found himself happy to be back doing his rounds.

"Hi." He heard the voice of the one woman that held his heart.

"Hi." He turned around to meet the eyes of Jac and gave her a big smile, he longed to swoon in and take her right then. The light from the windows in the hospital framing her face and body deliciously. He had to softly bite his lip, refraining from doing both actions that he longed to do; he knew that tonight he would be able to do both.

"I was thinking that tonight we could just get a take away and watch a film?" Jac suggested with a slight eyebrow raise and he knew what that cheeky look meant. Unfortunately, he had something far more important to do that night.

"Sorry, I've got something to do tonight." He informed her and now Jac gave him a confused look.

"What kind of things?" She gave him a small wink.

"The kind of things that features an amazingly cute, blonde girl." He smile seeing Jac's glare at him, "who is also four." He informed her and the glare was lost.

"Awh, Elle, I can come with you, my shift finishes around the same time as yours?" She offered and shocked Joseph.

"Jac Naylor, Ice Queen, wants to spend her evening with a four-year-old?" He smirked. "Sorry, no can do. I promised her that tonight would be just us two. She's been having issues with 'sharing' me." Jac smiled slightly.

"And 'sharing' would be with me then?" Joseph passed her a small nod. "Alright then, spend time with your _amazing _Goddaughter!" She smirked.

"I'm feeling really tired anyway, I might have an early night." She gave a yawn to support her statement.

"Alright then, I'll be back around ten, that's when her mum is home." He informed her.

"Okay." Jac gave him a smile and looked up at the clock. "Best get going then, I'll see you later." Joseph leaned forward and gave her a soft peck on the cheek before pulling away and leaving. Seconds after he did, Jac looked around trying to see if anyone had saw the gesture and her eyes, unfortunately for her, met with those of Nurse Donna Jackson who was smirking widely. She opened her mouth to comment at the doctor but Jac soon shut her up. "Not a word." She warned her and went on finishing her rounds.

He tried to take his time getting to Elle's school, knowing Elle hated it when he picked her up too early. But today he just did not seem to care. He was excited, just like a seven year old would be. Butterflies fluttered around his stomach as nerves began to set in; he was finally going to do it. But he had no idea of how, where and when, he just knew he was going to do it. That's how Joseph Byrne found himself doing the unthinkable; asking the four year old for help.

"So, you came to me for help." She imitated an old time gangster accent which was met with a smile from Joseph.

"What on earth have they been letting you watch?" He smirked with a laugh. Elle simply shrugged back, unsure really of why he was laughing at her when he was the idiot sitting on the child's pink plastic chair, pinkie high in the air as he sipped from a pink tea cup with invisible tea and a plastic scone on his matching pink plate.

"What d'you need my help with?" She smiled widely.

"Well, I am thinking of asking Jac a question." He told her and Elle began bubbling happily.

"Oh! Great, what kind of question? I'm good with questions!" She smiled

"Well," He paused, unsure how to explain it to a four year old, but he remembered Elle had the mind of an eighty year old. "I want to ask Jac to marry me." He had never saw such a wide smile grow on the four year old's face.

"Really?" She jumped happily.

"Yeah, she's going to be your real Auntie Jac."

"So wait, what do you need me to do? Am I meant to ask her for you?" He laughed slightly and Elle looked confused…

"No, but I need to know how to propose to her. I m all out of ideas." Elle's smile broadened.

"I saw someone do that in a film once!" She exclaimed and got a slight more giddy.

"So you've got some ideas for me?" Joseph asked patiently.

"Yeah!"

"Alright then, what is the first one?" Her smile got bigger.

"Well…"

Joseph had gathered a bunch of people: Elliott, Michael, Sacha, and a few nurses. He tapped his foot impatiently on the floor, waiting for Jac to get out of surgery.

Ten minutes had gone passed and he found himself fumbling with the box in his pocket. In his head, he ran though what he was going to say for the millionth time: "Jac Naylor, I love you, you are an amazing woman and it would make me proud for you to become Mrs. Joseph Byrne."

"Joseph, what the hell…" He was snapped out of his thoughts by Jac standing in front of him.

"Oh, Jac, hi, I…" He mumbled feeling a nudge in his back, he moved on. Getting down on one knee, he pulled out the box and opened it to reveal a diamond ring. "Jac Naylor," his words seemed to be lost and he forgot everything he had planned. "Iloveyou." He jumbled up his words slightly making Jac smile.

He looked back at Elle, shaking his head.

"Well what was wrong with that idea?" She asked, slightly confused, as a four year old would be.

"Jac doesn't really like being embarrassed and especially in a crowed of her workmates." He informed the child, knowing deep inside that the real reason was to do with the slight sense of something bad happening to him. What if she said no? In front of everyone! Or, even worse, what if she said yes, and then left him at the isle? He could not deal with that.

"Fine then." Elle huffed and sunk back in her chair. She stayed like that for a moment before coming up with another idea.

"How about!…" She rambled off.

Joseph walked through the park with Jac at his side, the day was perfect, sunny, glorious. Jac looked beautiful. Everything was going perfect, according to plan. He looked ahead at a balloon seller where he had hidden the ring on one of the many ends of a red balloon string and sighed, they were no where near there yet. His eyes latched onto something worrying, as he saw a young boy handing money over and walking away with a red balloon. It was as it he had, all of a sudden, gotten zoomed vision as he looked in at the end of the string. There it was, silver, three single diamonds. He began running towards the boy, but nothing was happening. Then he looked up, a crackle of thunder over head and he groaned as rain began to lash down through out the park.

"…No, that's not going to work either." He informed Elle and the young girl released another groan.

"Can't you ever think of the pluses of these things?" She rolled her eyes before trying to think of another idea. Joseph knew she had one when a smile grew on her face. "I have a great one! Remember how people propose to people in the place where they first meet them?" He nodded, "Well why don't you go to the fun fair and ask her to marry you there? On a ride or something!" She smiled, pleased with her idea until Joseph shot the idea down.

"Sweetie, just because you first met Jac at the fun fair, I didn't." Her face looked saddened. "Besides, Jac doesn't like the fun fair." Now she looked utterly confused.

"But if she doesn't like them, why did she come?" She looked curious and Joseph laughed.

"Never mind… got any more idea's in that head of yours?" He asked and she nodded listing off more ideas.

He drove home with no more ideas in his mind than what he already had, and none of them seemed to be working out. Sighing, he knew she needed to think of a way to make this special for Jac. He pulled into the driveway of his and quietly entered the house, knowing Jac was asleep. As he put all of his things away around the house he, quietly walked up the stairs and found Jac lying in their bed fast asleep and he had to smile at her. He carefully crept to the bedside draw and began taking the ring box out of his pocket with a slight stumble as he dropped the box on the floor.

"Shit." His curse was louder than he expected and he didn't know he had woken Jac up as he picked up the box and then the ring separately as it had fallen out. Going to put it back in the box, Jac saw him.

"Oh my God, Joseph." Was all she could say, looking at the ring and Joseph had now determined in his mind that it was now or never.

"Jac Naylor, I love you, will you marry me?" She sat up and a smile grew on her face.

"Of course I will!" She exclaimed, her arms wrapping around his neck as she hugged and kissed him.

"Thank God!" He gave her a smile and kissed her back.

Joseph laid back down on his part of the bed, panting heavily as he was out of breath. Jac looked up at the ceiling as Joseph watched her.

"Wow." Jac said.

"Was I that good?" He smirked at her.

"No." Was her first answer, "Well, yes, but I was 'wow'ing the ring, idiot." She whacked him lightly across the chest and laughed slightly. "So, did you have a good day?" She asked and Joseph suddenly remembered what he had been doing all day.

"Yeah, I had a tea party with Elle, and then she tried to give me idea's of ways to propose to you." He told her and she laughed slightly.

"And a four year old came up with this idea?" She asked and Joseph shook his head.

"Of course not, all her ideas were balloon, fun fair, cotton candy filled." Jac laughed slightly.

"I guess I still need to thank her though." She said and rolled over to look Joseph in the eyes.

"Yeah, I guess you should." They kissed and pulled apart, Jac's facination went straight back to the ring which the played with on eher finger before looking up to see him again.

"So, this tea party, was it any good?" She joked and Joseph rolled his eyes.

"Chairs were quite uncomfortable, but it was great considering it was all plastic and imaginary." She gave a small laugh. "And I swear, she has the mind of an eighty year old." Jac agreed, "Now not only is she being a know it all, she's the one giving me advice."

"Well, you did ask for it." She said… and then she saw the mischievous grin grow on Joseph's face as he mocked her.

"'Well, you did ask for it'." He mimicked before tickling her furiously. Jac could not help but laugh and beg for him to stop, and as he did, they both kissed passionately once again. Their night turning into one heated passion after another.


End file.
